My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

to think there has to be a happy medium between the cluckers and the hard men?

10 replies

OrmIrian · 20/10/2009 10:50

I am talking about taking sick leave.

One one side we have the 'ladies in purchase ledger' who leap on anyone who approaches with so much a slight cough and cluck at them, insisting that they are too ill to be in work and 'their health is more important than work' (which is clearly true if they had something actually wrong with them). One of these women recently took 3 weeks off work because she had a bad cold and 'thought it might be' swine flu. And we have recently had to introduce the Bradford Factor to combat excessive amounts of sick leave in the factory (usually Mondays or weekends strangely) that was causing major problems.

On the other hand we have the stubborn stalwarts souls like my boss who insisted on hobbling into work 3 weeks after a hip transplant. And is now at home due to a mini-stroke which has left him with impaired vision in his right eye but...IS STILL WORKING FROM HOME.... inspite of being roundly told off by the GP. The only reason he isn't actually in work is because he can't drive and his wife won't drive him!

Why do we have such different perceptions of illness?

OP posts:
Report
GetOrfMoiLand · 20/10/2009 10:55

God knows. My boss is one of those who comes in close to death and never takes a sick day.

I had an operation not long back and came in too early, probably due to the fact my boss is like she is.

One of my colleagues takes time off if she has an attack of the farts. It does breed resentment.

Report
colditz · 20/10/2009 10:56

I think the cluckers have watched the hard men ruin themselves and are determined that it isn't going to happen to them or anyone else they know.

Report
OrmIrian · 20/10/2009 11:00

I'm glad you've witnessed it too getorf. It's crazy!

colditz - that may be true. But there are undoubtedly some who regard their sick leave allowance as an extension of the holiday allowance .

OP posts:
Report
SolidGhoulBrass · 20/10/2009 11:04

It's partly down to upbringing, kids who were tucked up in bed with hot bottles and chicken soup after every sneeze either become whining hypochondriacs or impossible Spartans who will come to work dragging their semi-severed limbs behind them (depending on how good their general health is and how much they missed out on by being over-pampered) - whereas the ones whose parents told them to stop fussing as they convulsed with meningitis are often hard on themselves and harder on other people.

Report
OrmIrian · 20/10/2009 12:36

I think I was a bit of whinger until I had DC and then I went too far the other way. Now I tend towards the Spartan. Not so much for the DC but definitely for me. The whole world will of course collapse if I am off my feet

OP posts:
Report
MaggieBehaveOutGuising · 20/10/2009 12:44

i was a hard man. don't knwo why i bothered now

Report
pointyhat · 20/10/2009 12:48

Some people are lazy.
Somne people don't take their work that seriously.
Some people don't care about leaving workmates in teh lurch.
Some people are a little obsessed with germs and illness.

SO many little reasons that are hard to do anything about.

Report
TheDevilEatsBabies · 20/10/2009 12:52

pointyhat seems to have hit the nail o nthe head.

today i'm really poorly (horrible painful hacking cough that kept me awake all night and just won't go away) but i'm at work. not because i'm a hard nut who can't possibly take a day off because i'm not dying, but because i own the place and there's only me to be here.
i wish i could be off today.
if i were in gainful employment i would be in bed (or on the settee) wrapped in the poorly blanket and feeling sorry for myself.

i think if your illness can cause other people to be ill then you should stay off.
if the illness impairs your ability to do your job then you should stay off.
if you're not going to get better by being active (eg bad back) then you should be off.

Report
TrillianSlasher · 20/10/2009 12:59

I tell other people to go home so they will get better quicker (and so they're less likely to give it to me) but I feel guilty if I take time off.

My mum's plan was always 'go in and see how you feel', and I often do that. It means you can get essential things done, or hand them over to someone who can, and everyone can see that you are ill and not off on a dirty weekend.

Report
OrmIrian · 21/10/2009 12:48

Guess what?

My boss, the one who had a mini-stroke, is in work today. Why? Because his laptop is broken so he can't work from home. I despair..... At least 4 people have told him that he shouldn't be here.

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.